Egypt donates food to war-torn Somalia and Sudan

The United Nations World Food Programme welcomed today an Egyptian Government donation of over 250 tons of food commodities to war-torn Sudan and Somalia.

The United Nations World Food Programme welcomed today an Egyptian Government donation of over 250 tons of food commodities to war-torn Sudan and Somalia.

The donation to Sudan is 130 metric tons of wheat flour while 60 metric tons of rice, 60 metric tons of wheat flour and three metric tons of vegetable oil will go to Somalia. The donation, from Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Fund for Technical Cooperation for Africa, has a total value of over US$72,000.

“The donations are extremely timely. Both countries are struggling with major conflicts that have uprooted their populations and left many people destitute and without food, water and housing,” said Kenro Oshidari, WFP Representative in Sudan.

In Somalia, even before the recent exodus since February of over 300,000 people from the capital of Mogadishu, WFP has been assisting more than a quarter of a million people each month in areas where there are critical food shortages. WFP gave food to 1.1 million people in Somalia in 2006.

“WFP is deeply concerned that insecurity in and around Mogadishu is limiting access to those displaced by the heavy fighting who now lack food, water and shelter,” warned Peter Goossens, WFP’s Country Director in Somalia. “WFP hopes to deliver assistance to them as soon as possible.” In Sudan, where the ongoing conflict in Darfur continues to displace millions of people, WFP’s emergency operation is providing 682,000 metric tons of food aid at a total cost of US$685 million. This includes assistance to East Sudan and the Three Areas (Abyei, Blue Nile and South Kordofan).